Wings
by Desteny star
Summary: One shot for Dreamsandimagination: Mysterious arsons plague Arendelle, when Elsa discovers the cause of it is a Phoenix she finds and cuts off its wings only to soon realize that even though she took something from it...it would soon take something from her.


_**Authors note: A couple of weeks ago I put up a contest for all to participate, those who won I would write a one shot of their choice.**_

 _ **I apologize for the delay Dreamsandimagination in your one shot, hope it is what you wished for and that it was worth the wait.:)**_

* * *

 _A town, normal as any town could be during the late 1800's. People went around, going about their daily lives as they made their way to their home as night was dawning near and with it came a chill as snow spread everywhere._

 _All went about, ignoring the cries of an infant which was left outside on the ground, only a thin blanket, the baby cried, bawling its eyes out, people went about, ignoring the newborns plight, everybody was either too preoccupied in their lives to notice and if they did they ignored it as they had too many taxes to pay and did not want the burden that the newborn would bring if taken in._

 _Night came, people left leaving the baby who was now more weaker, as the night drew on it would surely die from exposure._

 _That was till the newborn had some unexpected company which came from a crow, it landed next to the child, cawing softly as he looked over the baby, the baby cooed softly at it, reaching with its pudgy hands, soon a dark shadow appeared._

 _The shadow belong to a woman, she wore an unusual winter dress made out of whimsical cloth, she was tall, beautiful, even with horns she still retained her beauty as she dragged her wings._

 _Looking over the child she raised an eyebrow before reaching down and picking up the baby, holding him,_

 _"Hump...your so ugly...I almost feel sorry for you" said the woman as she held the baby who cooed at her, placing her hand on the babies chest she was surprised to find the baby was still warm, even more so as she felt something._

 _"Magic...guess we are not so different" said the woman before she turned around and said "Diaval, lets go home", the crow cawed before the woman took off flying into the night, disappearing into the night and blizzard which soon followed._

* * *

 ** _Many years later in Arendelle:_**

Elsa mentally sighted as she sat in her throne, listening to the every day going on's being said by her royal advisor who was reading off of a list of things.

Nothing out of the usual so far, it was the usual tax collections, trade contracts, some disputes which can be solved rather easily most of the times, nothing new or exiting as she desperately tried not to yaw from boredom. Standing nearby her sister Anna covered her mouth trying to stifle a laugh which was going to erupt from her as she knew what was going through Elsa's mind.

She was bored, that was the most obvious thing for Anna, even if Elsa did not show it Anna was sure of it.

"Is that all the report?" asked Elsa hopeful when her advisor Kai finished,

"Well, yes, but just one thing that we have left to discuss" said Kai as he folded the papers and placed them back on his coat,

"And that is?" asked Elsa hesitantly as she knew what was coming, she could feel it,

"Have you given any though about...marriage..." said Kai carefully, he knew how...hesitant...Elsa was about finding a beau...much less a spouse..

"It is your royal duty to find a groom to marry so you can have heirs" continued Kai again careful,

"Yes I have, but there is no rush" said Elsa,

"Actually...there is...the council is growing impatient..they are demanding that you find a suitor who could be your husband and rule by your side" said Kai then added "They even made a list of potential suitors",

"I am sorry but, I am taking my time as there are too many to choose from" said Elsa lying, the truth was that she did not care for any of the suitors, any potential one was either terrified of her or wanted her power, which neither she liked as she wanted a person who was not afraid of her yet at the same time she wanted to keep the control she had, not relinquish it to another person.

"Alright, I will tell the council, but I suggest you hurry up a bit, for the clock is ticking and they are ready to give you an ultimatum" said Kai with that he bow down and left.

"Well...that went well" said Anna as breaking the silence as she walked over to Elsa who began to rub her forehead as she often did when stressed,

"Are you going to tell me how he is right" groaned Elsa,

"Umm...want my honesty?" said Anna sheepishly making Elsa groan "Don't tell me that you agree with them",

"Only a little Elsa...I am sorry...but I worry about you being alone almost all the time...now with me and Kristoff having little Idna around we cannot spend as much time in the palace as we used to" said Anna,

"But I am fine! I don't need a husband" said Elsa,

"I am not saying that you need one Elsa, I am saying that I feel that you need more people to interact with besides me, Kristoff, Idna and Olaf" said Anna then added softly "Its just not healthy...and...I just want what's best for you...what if one day God forbid me, Kristoff and Idna are gone...who will you turn to then? Who will be there for you?".

Elsa said nothing,

"Just think about it" said Anna before walking away. When gone Elsa frowned as she got up from the throne and walked to the window, looking out of it she sighted as she watched as Anna ran over and hugged Kristoff who smiled as he gave her Idna, a very sweet 4 year old girl, she laughed as she hugged her mother.

Anna smiled and held her daughter kissing her forehead while Idna giggled when Kristoff ruffled her strawberry blond hair.

Elsa frowned and walked away thinking how her sister was lucky, leaving the throne room she paced around the palace halls, trying to clear her head, yet the more she walked the more she noticed how quiet the palace was, how empty it was as she easily walked more than 10 minutes before finding some random servant busy doing chores.

It was depressing really, even more when Elsa remembered how when she was little and how full of noise and life the palace once had been.

"Maybe Anna is right...but how can I let anybody close if they could be after my power or are afraid?" though Elsa as she paced, yes...that was a problem...

* * *

Night began to fall as the sun set behind the mountains, down in the outside of Arendelle town were fields full of workers, bearing workload as they were busy with their new harvest.

Whipping the sweat from their brow the farmers gathered their tools to go back to their home, but much to their surprise they heard a song, a ballad which seemed too beautiful to be man made.

Upon hearing the song the farmers seemed to get into a kind of trance as they automatically began to follow, following the song, then as soon as it started it mysteriously stopped, soon the smell of smoke followed.

"THE FIELDS ARE ON FIRE!" there was a scream, running back to the fields the farmers stared in shock and horror at the immense fire which consumed the fields, destroying their hard work.

* * *

It was not the first time or the last, soon almost all of Arendelle fields and forests were being consumed by fires, such ferocious that no matter what was done it would never be turned off till all was left were ashes.

The responsible culprit always followed the same pattern, a mysterious ballad being its calling card, which would place people and animals to trance, then soon after that the flames would follow.

Terrified and desperate the farmers and even townspeople surrounded the palace, demanding that something be done to stop the culprit and save their hard work, fields and forest.

"This is very strange, I mean the culprit always follows the same pattern" said Anna as she and Elsa were busy hitting the books, looking for any clues as to who or what the culprit could be.

"Yes and a song mysterious, but at least on the bright side it never seemed to want to hurt anybody as it uses its song to bring others away from harm" said Elsa as she looked over her book, finishing it Elsa got up and placed it away before reaching for another book, as she did a scroll fell from the top, falling to the ground.

Curious Elsa picked it up and dusted it as she noticed it was covered in dust and cobwebs before opening it to look over it, once she did her eyes widen as she looked at the contents inside.

* * *

A seer, a very powerful crone who knew everything, time, all secrets, even the forbidden, nothing was a secret to her.

Pulling the cloak Elsa slowly walked up the stone ruins of the castle where the rumored crone lived, walking she held herself as the place was dark, shadows were cast by the trees under the full moon as she walked.

Then all of a sudden she heard a chanting, up ahead there was a light, as she got closer to it she saw it came from a fire, next to the fire was a hunched figure covered by a dark cloak, it stood still, starring at the fire.

"Excuse me?" asked Elsa as she somehow managed to find her voice, in truth she wanted to run away, but she reminded herself that she was queen and as such she needed to do whatever it took to keep her people safe.

"Yes Queen Elsa?" she heard making her bit her lip to keep herself from gasping, how did the crone know her name?

"I know everything, I saw why you are here" said the crone as she turned to face Elsa, her eyes widen, she had never seen such a horrible woman in her life, the crones face was covered in boils, bony, her eyes were large and bug eye as she stared at her and smiled with a toothy grin as she walked over and said "I know the culprit...and I know how to stop him...",

"Him?" asked Elsa curious,

"Yes...him..." said the crone as she moved her hands through the fire, casting shadows and smoke till it formed what looked like a bird "A phoenix, the bringer of death, destruction and re-birth, it is what is responsible for setting those fires" said the crones,

"How do I stop it?" asked Elsa as she now knew what it was,

"I will tell you, but you must follow my exact instructions...or else not even your snow magic will save you" said the crone as she reached into her cloak and took out a bottle "Honey sap, it is my special recipy, when drunk it will induce heavy sleep, take it and bring it to a pond just north of here where the moon reflects on it, drop the honey sap on it and wait, once the phoenix drinks and is asleep you will cut off his wings with this" reaching again into the cloak she took out a bejeweled dagger.

When Elsa touched it she shivered as she could feel a powerful spell on it, "Once you have its wings you will hide it and the phoenix will never be a problem so long as you never let him get his wings back" continued the crone,

"Thank you" said Elsa as she turned to leave but froze when the crone grab unto her arm "I don't do this for free you know...I expect my payment",

"What do you want?" asked Elsa unsure, the crone looked then began to stroke her hair,

"What lovely hair...I want it...I will give you my hair in exchange" said the crone, Elsa hesitated, she liked her brunet hair, it reminded her of her mother, but reminded herself of her peoples plight so she nodded.

The crone cackle before waiving her hand over Elsas hair and her own, in two flashes Elsas hair turned silver while the crones turned brown.

Moving her hair the crone seemed happy with it before she said "I feel I should warn you this...you may take the phoenix wings, but he will take something from you too" with that she left quite merrily while Elsa too made her way, following the crones instructions.

* * *

Arriving to the pond Elsa looked around quite astonished, the place was very beautiful as it was high on the north mountains, the pond was crystal clear and pure, the ice reflected the lights of the moon casting it about and lighting the place in what seemed like a magical way as the moon itself was reflected on the water.

"This must be the place" decided Elsa as she walked over to the pond, opening the bottle that the crone gave to her and dumped it on the water before leaving quickly, using her snow magic she made a hide out for herself and sat down to wait for the phoenix to arrive.

And arrive he did.

Elsa stared as the night sky lit up in flames as a bird, much grander than anything she had ever seen landed on the snow which melted beneath its talons, flapping its brilliant gold and red wings before making its way to the pond.

Holding her breath Elsa watched as the huge bird bend down and drank from the pond a good long while before turning, but just as it opened its wings to flew away it began to fly erratically as the honey sap took its effect.

Soon the phoenix landed on the snow covered ground, fast asleep, Elsa mentally celebrated as she got out of her hiding spot and ran over to the fallen form of the Phoenix.

Stopping she bend down and looked over the fallen bird, it was curious of how it was still producing warmth even when asleep, placing a hand on its wings Elsa marveled how soft and silky the feathers felt, yet how strong the wings were. For a moment she felt pity about doing this to such a magnificent bird, but then reminded herself that it would continue to cause arsons if she did not do this.

So taking a deep breath Elsa took out the dagger and with two quick movements she cut off the birds wings.

Moving them a bit she placed them on a sled she made out of ice before leaving as she did not want to be there when the bird woke up and realized what happened.

* * *

 _ **A couple of weeks later:**_

Sitting on the library by the open fire of the fireplace Elsa tried not to think about what she had done. Yet no matter what she did her mind went back to the bird as she worried if it was okay, true it did a lot of bad things, burned down a lot of fields and forest, but it never killed anybody.

"Maybe I should check on it...see if its okay...maybe bring it some bread, berries and a bit of meat" decided Elsa to put her worried/guilt to rest, with that she got up from her chair and left.

* * *

Arriving to the place where she had left the phoenix she frowned when she found it was not there,

"Of course its not there, it probably moved" though Elsa scolding herself as she began to look around the area, hoping to find the bird.

As she did she heard a strange ballad, what it said she did not understand, but it was quite sad as it cut deep inside her, filling her with grief and pity as she followed the song, almost instinctively.

A couple of feet away, hiding out of the way was a person, his back was pressed against the boulder was a man, his head of red auburn hair was buried on his knees which he had them pressed against his chest, the song came from him though every now and then he stopped as he choked a bit as if he had been sobbing, his slightly tanned skin was covered in cold sores from the icy temperature as he wore not one stitch of clothes.

Elsa looked wondering what this person was doing here, was he held as a prisoner by the phoenix? how did he even survive the cold?

Shaking her head Elsa walked closer to the person, careful not to look too much as she took off her cloak and placed it on the person, sensing her he jumped away, his forest green eyes glaring at her dangerously as he back away.

"Calm down, my name is Elsa I am-" Elsa dodged as the stranger threw fire at her, her eyes widen in surprise seeing that before dodging again as the stranger threw more fire.

"Stop it" warned Elsa "I am not going to hurt you", the man glared as if saying "I don't trust you" before throwing more fire, just before he did Elsa reacted fast and threw ice at his hand, the cold burning his hand.

His eyes widen as he retracted his hand and held it against his chest, silently hissing in pain, "Stop it or else I will be forced to turn you into an icicle" warned Elsa, the man settled to glare at her as he nursed his hand.

Sighting Elsa looked before turning red as she looked a little too low before she walked over, picking up her discarded cloak and held it out to him, he looked at her, not making a single movement,

"You need to...cover yourself" said Elsa wondering if he understood her language as he had not actually talked to her, but seems that he could as he looked at her rather amused at how she was uncomfortable at his nudity before taking the cloak and using it to cover himself.

Mentally sighting Elsa was glad that he was "dressed" before asking "What is your name?", he looked at her confused, "Your name" said Elsa then added "Like...hello...my name is Elsa" she extended her hand for him to take and shake.

He looked at her hand strangely, not taking it as he seemed to analyze her actions before taking her hand on his, kissing it, "Okay...your name" repeated Elsa as this was rather awkward, he let go and said nothing, his eyes starring at her without saying a word before pointing at himself then his back confusing Elsa as she turned to look at his back, when she did her eyes widen in shock.

Near his shoulder blades were two strange appendages sticking out a bit, which to Elsa looked like where wings would be attached.

Her eyes widen as she realized this mean one thing, this person was the phoenix, somehow it turned to human or at least a human form,

"How could it be?" wondered Elsa then froze when she heard a strange rumbling, the person looked away a bit ashamed, seems it was his stomach who was rumbling.

"No harm in bringing him to the palace...that way I can keep an eye on him and keep him from doing any more harm" though Elsa as she decided on the matter before saying "You need to come with me".

He stared at her incredulous; Who is she to order him around? He stood firmly, glaring, not showing any indication of moving or doing what he was told.

"Look, if you want to stay out here and freeze to death its fine by me, but I got to warn you, the cold will get worse and by the looks of it you are in no shape to survive even one more night" said Elsa seriously hoping he would listen to her reason and stop being stubborn, she was quite serious with what she said as she could tell that he had lost a bit of weight from the lack of food, was quite pale and had some bruises caused by the extreme cold, even his nails and lips were blue from it.

Reaching out with her hand she said with sincerity "I don't want you to get hurt, if you come with me I can give you shelter, food and clothing...it will definitely be better than staying out here", he stared at her with huge distrust, for a moment Elsa wondered if he knew that she was the one who took his wings, it was pretty obvious as she knew his location.

A few minutes passed before he extended his hand, accepting her invitation.

* * *

"You will wash right now" said Gerda sternly as she, Kai and two other servants struggled to get the stranger into the bath tub, the stranger struggled and shook, trying to free himself from their grip as he was quite wary of their intentions.

In his mind they were probably planning to drown him in that tub full of water. With a yelp the cloak was ripped off of the stranger before he was pushed into the water, surging up he gasped and coughed, shivering as the water was cold,

"It would have been warm if you had not made such a huge fuss about getting a bath" said Gerda exasperated as she held the cloak before leaving as she had to send that cloak to be washed.

The stranger glared at Kai and the remaining two servants, silently warning them not to get near him. Unsure whether they want to be near or even touch the strange the servants did nothing, especially Kai who sensed that the person was much like Elsa...he was not what he seemed to be.

Soon there was a knock on the door, opening it Elsa walked in, dressed in her queen outfit, her hair which was now platinum white was placed in a bun with braids as she now had much more hair to work with than before.

"Your highness" began Kai, mostly shocked as it was not proper for her to be in the situation right now,

"Kai please..." said Elsa before she stared at the stranger whose glare intensified, his green eyes seemed to glow with unreleased fire and anger, "Leave us" said Elsa,

"But your highness" protested a servant as he feared for his queen being alone with this stranger who could be very dangerous for all they know.

"Leave us" ordered Elsa firmly, nodding the servants left, once the door was closed behind them Elsa walked over and said "I heard that you were giving a hard time to my servants", the man stared before much to her shock he spoke "How do I know that they mean no harm to me?",

"Ah, so you can speak and understand" said Elsa after she recovered from her shock and added "I had begun to fear that you were a mute or did not spoke our language",

"I had no reason to speak till now" said the stranger,

"You had a reason when I asked you your name Phoenix" said Elsa,

"I have no name" he said as he glared at her,

"Then better get you one...also you better start treating my servants better...for you will stay here for a long time" said Elsa,

"I will not stay here" said the man,

"You have no choice" said Elsa as she played with a key around her neck "I have your wings you see...without them your going nowhere", the man immediately stood to rip the key away, but elsa pulled it away and hid it before saying "Ah ah my dear, your under my mercy now, step a toe out of line and I will destroy your wings".

Upon hearing that the mans face change to fear as he speak trying to hide his fear, though his eyes betrayed him "You would not do that",

"Of course not, provided of course you don't do anything wrong, follow the rules and do as you are told by me and treat my servants nicely" said Elsa as she turned and left leaving the stranger reeling in fear.

Walking pass Kai and the servants she said "Clean him, dress him, give him a makeover, I need him to fit in with the rest of us", bowing down the servants did as they were told, rather surprised that the man was now as docile as a lamb.

* * *

Sitting on her office Elsa stared mulling over her thoughts and possibilities. All of them were settled on one thing and one thing only, what to do with the stranger or phoenix turned human.

A part of her wondered if to sent him to prison for his arson crimes, but she could not convict him as nobody would believe that the stranger was actually a mythological creature, she could send him to work to pay for his crimes, but the question was what work could he do? How could he be useful to her?

Then there was a knock on the door, interrupting her thoughts, looking Elsa said "Yes?", entering the office she saw it was Kai, bowing down Kai said "The...guest...is cleaned and dressed, we had to...use some of your fathers clothes as we could not find any other clothes to fit him".

Part of Elsa was angry when she heard it, her fathers clothes were not to be used on the stranger, but nodded and said "Send him in", bowing down Kai left, soon the stranger walked in.

Looking Elsas eyes widen, the stranger was handsome without a doubt, his auburn red hair was cut into the styles she had seen many prince's and noble men use, his beard had been shaved leaving only side burns, her fathers clothes suit him quite nicely, so much that if she had not known him she would have claimed that he was a prince.

As soon as the though entered her head Elsa smiled as an idea came to her head the said "Have Kay escort you to my room, stay there till further notice", he glared but bow down...kinda forced before leaving.

Sitting up Elsa began to pace around, this was perfect, he was absolutely dependent on her, had no past, wasn't totally afraid of her but he had enough fear that he would not do anything to her, easily controllable.

"This will work in my favor" though Elsa with a smile.

* * *

Looking around the stranger was unsure yet curious as he explored the room which belong to the...queen Elsa...

He had never been in a "human" room, much less one of a queens as he lived outside all of his life, sleeping on caves and hard to reach places, so everything was new to him as he looked around, touching the bed,

"Soft" though the stranger, then walked to the vanity, opening a jar he smelled it, it smelled like flowers, before putting it back just as Elsa walked into the room.

He looked at her, wondering what was she going to do, even more when he noticed she had brought a box with her.

"I have been thinking long and hard, for your crimes of arson your punishment will be for you to be locked in prison where not even the light will reach you" said Elsa, mentally smirked when she noticed fear flash before his eyes briefly before continuing "But...I am willing to give you an alternative punishment as you are of use to me",

"Are you not going to ask me why I burn down those fields and forest?" asked the stranger,

"It does not matter as there is no reason good enough to justify what you did" said Elsa before continuing "Being queen is not easy, being me is even worse as I have to deal with many things along the fact that I am not married",

"I wonder why" the stranger said sarcastically,

"So, in exchange for not going to prison I will ask you to marry me" said Elsa opening the box to reveal two matching rings, one was a simple gold band, the other was silver with diamonds, the strangers face stared in shock before he said incredulously "You must be joking, I cannot marry you",

"You have no choice, its either marry me or a prison cell" said Elsa "Frankly marrying me is the better option for as my...husband...you will live very comfortably, provided of course that you do as I say, leave everything to me and have no say or power in making decisions that have to do with my kingdom, also you will not be allowed to leave the palace unattended and you must remain here in Arendelle unless of course I have to travel then you will accompany me at all times",

"I cannot stay here, I am a phoenix, its against my nature to remain in one place" said the stranger,

"You have no choice...but...if somehow you help the city prosper...and do well...I might...just might let you go and give you back your wings" said Elsa, the stranger though then asked "Will I get my wings back if I do this?",

"Depends on your actions...so what do you say?" said Elsa, the stranger hesitated before saying "Alright,you have a deal Queen Elsa",

"Just Elsa, since you are going to be my fiancé" said Elsa then added "As for you...I will come up with a new identity and name which will become yours, Kai will teach you our customs and court etiquette which I hope you will learn quickly", the stranger said nothing, though his eyes spoke loudly, a strange mixture of sadness and anger.

"Remember everything well...get used to it...for its going to be a long while" with that she left to make preparations leaving the stranger alone who began to shake, tears fell from his closed eyes and darkened the floor beneath him.

* * *

"Hans Vestergaar" the stranger though over and over as he memorized the new identity that Elsa created for him, it felt so strange calling himself something other than Phoenix.

Pacing back and forth the Phoenix/Hans dreaded waiting, he wanted to get this over with as Elsa, after she was sure that he knew all customs and court manners, decided to show him to the court and her sister and family.

"Like I want to meet another Elsa" though Hans angrily as he was sure that the sister was very much like Elsa and he cared not for the family...he probably pitied her husband and child for being with such a woman.

Then his thoughts were interrupted as the double doors opened to reveal the throne room, much to Hans relief it was empty, there was nobody but Elsa, some blond guy, a strawberry blond who was practically bounding on her heels with excitement and a little girl who was mimicking the older woman.

Taking a footstep inside Hans tensed as the little girl ran over and hugged his knees,

"Idna" said blond guy,

"Oh let her be Kristoff, she is just exited to meet her new uncle" said the woman as the girl...Idna?...continued to hug Hans knees and said "Hi, my name is princess Idna, I will be your favorite niece...well...only niece...but if I get siblings I will be the favorite",

"Hi...Idna..my name is pho...I mean Hans" said Hans smiling a bit, the girl was very sweet and a ball of charm,

"Momma can I show him around? Can I? Can I?" Idna said exited,

"Of course, as long as its okay with aunty Elsa" said the woman elbowing queen Elsa who smiled uneasy then said "Its fine Anna, as long as they remain inside the palace" while she said that Elsa looked at Hans glaring, warning that if he even tried to escape...well...it would not be good.

"Yay!" cheered Idna before tugging Hans out of the throne room.

Once he left Anna laughed and said "You really know how to pick them Elsa, he is quite handsome and seems to be nice and charming",

"Handsome he is...charming and nice...its yet to be seen" though Elsa as she smiled,

"Why didn't you show us your fiancé sooner?" said Anna then teased "Have you been hiding him from us so you can have him all to yourself?",

"I have my reasons Anna" said Elsa,

"So when is the wedding?" asked Kristoff,

"Private ceremony next week, he and I decided to keep it under wraps and make it as quick as possible" said Elsa,

"I am so happy for you sister, I can tell you and him are going to be very happy" said Anna happily,

"I doubt it" though Elsa.

* * *

The wedding came and went, the interactions between Elsa and Hans remained non-existent or minimal at best. They were married, in the eyes of the law they were husband and wife, shared a room like married couples did, were seen in public together, but that was it.

Most of the time they spent their time away from one another, Hans never let Elsa touch him unless it was absolutely necessary, he did not even share the same bed with her, preferring to sleep on the floor of the room and Elsa did not complain about it as she liked how the arrangement was going.

It continued that way for quite a while, that was till an incident happened.

"Catch me" squealed Idna as she ran away from Hans who was playing hide and seek with her, Hans rarely interacted with anybody, mostly keeping to himself as he did not seem to like many people, he did get along with Anna and Kristoff, was polite to them and surprisingly tolerant of Anna's mischief, but when it came to Idna...he showed a completely different side which Elsa never expected to see.

He adores that child, he was always playing with her, spending time, he even smiled. True he smiled and such every now and then with Anna, Kristoff or her, but it was more forced, the same with his emotions and actions, but when it came to Idna he was genuine about everything, his actions, tone of voice, smile...when he smiled at her it was a smile which would make even the brightest diamonds look quite dull.

"I am glad that Idna likes her uncle" said Anna as she and Elsa walked the gardens,

"He makes a good nanny" said Elsa as she watched Hans who managed to catch Idna, the little girl hugged him, he smiled and patted her head happily.

"That's what Kristoff says, he is conspiring to ask Hans and you to watch Idna while me and him take a little break" said Anna,

"Uh hu" said Elsa still distracted,

"Elsa?" asked Anna making her snap out of it,

"Yes?" said Elsa,

"Something wrong?" asked Anna confused,

"I am fine...just fine...I just remembered I had a meeting with the duke of spain...excuse me" said Elsa quickly as she turned and left with Anna following her.

"I love you uncle" said Idna as she hugged Hans knees,

"I love you too Idna" said Hans softly, he meant it, that little girl was a shining light, the only good thing about his captivity,

"Ahem" Hans scowled as he though "Great...the ice queen is here" as he turned and forced a smile on his face when he saw Anna and Elsa.

Clapping her hands Elsa said "Come on...there is a meeting being held by the duke", Hans was going to move, but Idna was fast and said "Okay, bye mommy, bye aunty, see you at dinner...come on uncle Hans, lets go to the swing",

"Uhh...Idna, sweety, Hans has to come with me" said Elsa,

"Why?" asked Idna, Hans was going to go, but decided to stay quiet and watch the situation unfold.

"Because...as my husband he has to be present on the meeting with me" said Elsa,

"No he does not" said Idna quite cheekily shocking Elsa, who composed herself and asked "Why do you say that?",

"Because all he does in the meeting is stand up and say nothing...aren't you supposed to say things at the meeting? So it makes no sense that he goes to a boring meeting where he has nothing to do when I am sure that he'd rather be here and play with me" said Idna crossing her arms defiantly,

"You know...she has a point...it makes no sense to make Hans to go a meeting when he never gets to voice his opinion on matters" said Anna as she though about it, twirling one of her hairs behind her hair.

"Well, he has to go, he is my husband" said Elsa as her face started to grow a bit red with...irritation?...

"Nope, he is not your husband, he is my prince charming" said Idna as she hugged Hans knees, Hans stared shocked and even turning a bit red, while Anna laughed as she found the situation quite funny,

"Idna, you cannot go after somebody who is already married" said Elsa,

"But you and he are not married" complained Idna,

"Why not?" said Elsa,

"My mommy and daddy are married, they kiss, they hug, smile, spend time together, I never see you and uncle do anything like that so it means you two are not married" said Idna.

Elsas was going to say something but found herself unable to as she knew Idna was making some very strong points, to the outside world they presented themselves as married, but on the inside everybody would think the same way as Idna as they acted more like two people would could not stand one another rather than a married couple.

"Idna...I am flattered...but your a little too young for me" said Hans trying to be as polite as possible,

"But I can grow" whined Idna,

"By the time your my age I will be a lot older" said Hans, Idna though, scrunching her nose before sighting "Ya...your right..." then added with puppy dog eyes "Can I still call you my prince charming?",

"That I will allow" said Hans.

"Looks like you got some competition" said Anna between laughs as she held her ribs which began to hurt at how much she was laughing.

While Elsa stared, she was shocked that a little girl was able to argue with her quite well and angry that said little girl was speaking reason.

* * *

That night Elsa sat down on her bed, she tried to ignore what Idna said, but the more she tried the less she was successful as she got up and decided to take a walk and clear her thoughts.

Walking down the hallway she heard cheering, it was Idna, in her room the little girl was sitting on the carpet where she clapped her hands happily, the room was full of balls of flames, but not like any Elsa had seen as they looked more to be like stars than spheres of flames.

Controlling them Hans was sitting nearby, moving his hands he controlled them, forming them into different shapes and such, at one point he moved them, forming forms that looked to be a couple, the woman in a large ball gown and the male who looked like a prince, they danced about the room, as if they were dancing among the stars.

"Pretty" cooed Idna as she reached to touch, but Hans took her hand firmly yet gently and said "No, if you touch it you can get hurt",

"But you touch it" said Idna,

"Its different, I can touch it and not get hurt" said Hans,

"Because your a phoenix?" asked Iduna making Elsa stop and listen in more, feeling a bit angry that Hans told Idna what he was,

"Yes" answered Hans,

"Did you have wings before?" asked Idna,

"Yes" answered Hans sadly "They were big ones, so big and heavy that sometimes I had to drag them on the floor",

"How was it like to fly?" asked Idna with child like curiosity, Hans smiled, but Elsa could see the sorrow in his eyes as he answered "It is something I cannot describe so easily, it was happiness, freeing, the rush of the wind as you go across, the cloud feel cooling, like water", Idna ahhh'd in amazement, her already large eyes seem to grow larger as she listened before asking "Will you fly someday?",

"I don't know..." said Hans,

"if you do can you take me flying with you? I wanna know how it feels like too" said Idna,

"Maybe...we shall see" said Hans as he got up and said "Better get to bed before your parents find out that your still awake when your supposed to be sleeping",

"Awww" whined Idna as she got up, with a wave of his hand Hans made the flames vanish before helping Iduna into her bed and tucking her in.

"Will you take me horse back ridding tomorrow?" asked Idna,

"Depends on what your parents say...and so long as you do not give your aunt Elsa a hard time" said Hans,

"Why? She is too cold and not nice" said Idna huffing,

"Yes, but its not nice what your doing to her" said Hans "Your aunt Elsa she...is a special individual...she has her quirks and I am sure she has her own way of showing she loves you and cares for you",

"I doubt it, she never plays with me and always scolds me" said Idna huffing,

"Idna, being a queen is hard work, because of that she has little time to play, I bet she would love to play with you if you ask her" said Hans "as for scolding...did you do anything to deserve it?".

Idna though then said mischievously "No",

"Idna" said Hans,

"Alright, Alright, yes...sometimes..." said Idna huffing,

"I though so... try to give her a chance" said Hans,

"Okay" said Idna as she yawned, smiling a little Hans got up and left, blowing out the candle on Idna's dresser on the way out.

Moving quickly Elsa hid before Hans saw her, when he left Elsa was left terribly confused, why would he talk to her niece about her that way? Why would he defended her...why?

With that she turned and left, going back to her room slowly.

Arriving to her room she noticed quickly that time had passed as Hans was already in his pajamas, sleeping on the bare floor, usually she would not bat an eyelash toward it, but this time she felt greatly bothered seeing him sleeping on the cold hard floor.

"Maybe I should ease up a bit...just a bit as I don't want him walking all over me" though Elsa.

* * *

The next night Hans walked into the room, another night to sleep, only to notice something new in Elsa's room, on the floor there was a large silk cushion placed on the floor with a blanket folded on top of it.

Confused Hans walked over and placed his hand on it, running his hand through it and enjoying the soft material,

"I see you like it" he heard, looking he saw Elsa walk in "I though the floor was a little too hard so I had the cushion made so you can have something comfortable to lay on while you sleep",

Hans looked at her, for a moment his eyes seemed to soften as he said "Thank you...".

Elsa though nothing of it as she walked to get ready to sleep.

* * *

More time passed, thing slowly started to get better, communication was still small between Elsa and Hans, but they were speaking a bit more to one another.

"Your having trouble" said Hans as he closed a book he had been reading, King Arthur if Elsa was correct,

"What kind?" asked Elsa as she had been looking over official documents when he spoke,

"Your magic, I can feel it from here" said Hans,

"What about it?" asked Elsa,

"I think you try and bottle your emotions to much" he simply said "Because if you do...then the magic will just keep growing bigger and bigger till it explodes out of you",

"I assume you are joking" said Elsa deadpanned, though deep inside she was terrified when she heard that,

"Am I?" said Hans looking at her seriously,

"If I explode then wouldn't it be convenient for you? You can escape" said Elsa narrowing her eyes at him suspiciously,

"Like you said...I am at your mercy, without my wings I cannot leave and without you I cannot survive among humans" said Hans in a matter of fact tone as he placed the book down on the coffee table and got up before saying "Outside on the courtyard, meet me there...and wear trousers" with that he left leaving Elsa wondering what he had planned.

* * *

Outside on the court yard Elsa arrived, looking around she spotted Hans, he was sitting on a stone bench waiting for her.

"What is this about?" asked Elsa as she walked over, she had done what he asked and wore men trousers and a shirt with a vest,

"A battle" said Hans as he got up, when he spoke that it surprised Elsa,

"I always wondered...if ice and fire were to battle...who would win" continued Hans, as he did fire began to dance about him. At first Elsa was terrified but soon that terror was replaced with a competitive spirit and adrenalin and said "I hope there is a historian around to write about the day fire was defeated by ice",

"I say the same but it is not fire who will loose" said Hans before he threw fire at her, reacting Elsa threw ice at the ground making a wall to protect her, when the fire collided it fizzed into steam covering the area.

Hans looked around before reacting and beraly dodging ice shards which were thrown at him,

"Ahhhh seems the queen can be a trickster" he said.

* * *

Watching from the safety of her room Idna stared in awe before screaming "BATTLE!", soon the guards and her parents crowded into the windows, all of them staring in amazement at seeing their queen and her supposed husband battling.

Ice and fire was thrown between the counterparts as the fight ensued,

"Stop them!" yelled Anna horrified at seeing them fight, but nobody listened and if they did they did nothing as it would be considered suicide to get between them.

"Their not fighting...I mean they are...but not out of malice" said Kristoff,

"What?" asked Anna confused,

"Look at them, their battling, but their pulling their punches, every time one or the other gets close to doing real damage they pull back" explained Kristoff, Anna wondered before going back to look at the battle, that was when she noticed he was right, Elsa had many chances to do real damage, the same with Hans, but they never did.

* * *

Sometime passed, stopping both Elsa and Hans just stood for a moment, both were sweaty and breathing hard, they were spent and they knew it.

"Your not half bad...for a royal..." said Hans between breaths as he ran his hand through his sweaty forehead,

"And your not that bad...for an oversize bird" said Elsa as she too panted, trying to catch her breath.

Hans chuckled weakly at that before he stopped, for a moment he terrified Elsa as he just stared, as if he was not there, but in a far away place, then all of a sudden he turned quickly and threw fire at a rose bush.

It was not an ordinary rose bush, it was a special one, it had been planted there by Anna and Kristoff to celebrate their first aniversery of being married, so it meant a great deal.

"Hans!" yelled Elsa in horror as she went to throw ice to stop the fire but Hans quickly ran and held her back,

"Stop it! Let go of me!" yelled Elsa as she trashed about to get free and save the burning bush,

"No! Just stop!" growled Hans as he held her, making her watch as the bush burned till it was nothing but ashes.

Anger filled Elsa as Hans finally let her go, turning she slapped him with all the strength she could muster, holding his stinging cheek Hans growled "What what that for!?",

"I should be the one who should ask! You burned my sisters and Kristoff's bush for no reason! They loved that bush! Especially little Idna! How could you do such an evil thing!?" Elsa growled back, as soon as she did Hans eyes lit up in anger before grabbing her hand roughly.

"Let go of me!" demanded Elsa as she began to tug on her hand, his grip held strong, his hand grew hot, both began to hurt her considerably.

"Shut up!" growled Hans as he dragged her to the ashes of the rose bush, with his free hand he began to move the ashes, when he did Elsa eyes widen when he revealed a horrible sight.

Common viper, not one, not two, not even 5, but a whole colony of more than 30 vipers had made the bush into their home, luckily they died because of the flames but the skeletons remained as proof of what had been using the bush as a hide out.

"That! That is why I did what I did" snapped Hans as he let her go before storming back into the palace leaving Elsa to take in the information.

The snakes, they were the most poisonous in Arendelle, one bite could easily kill a full grown adult, that made Elsa fear as Anna, Kristoff and Idna loved the bush...what if Anna or Kristoff had been near or worse what if little Idna had stuck her hand in the bush? They could have been bit and be dead if Hans had not burned the bush.

Then when she though about it it made her wonder...he never burned anything down while he had been in the palace till just now...and he had a good reason to do it...so did that meant he had a good reason to burn down those fields and forests too?

"I have to know for sure" though Elsa as she went into the palace quickly to speak to Anna and tell her what happened.

* * *

They say that everything always happens for a reason, it could not be more the truth in this situation, after researching all the fires everybody, especially Elsa were horrified to discover corpses of infested and diseased rats littering the fields, while in the forest there was a large yet now dead infestation of termites gathered. If either one had not been burn down Arendelle would have been devastated with disease and the economy would have been ruined as the pine would not have been able to be sold.

It was hard for Elsa, but she acknowledge that despite that what Hans did was bad, he did it for all the right reasons and with good intentions.

"What will you do Elsa?" asked Anna after a while, she was still spooked about the though that she could have lost her daughter because of a snake, though was not aware of the full truth.

Elsa said nothing as she played with the key that hanged around her neck and said "I will speak to Hans" with that she left.

* * *

Sitting on a Elsas bedroom Hans wondered when would Elsa barge in and make true to her past threat of sending him to the dungeons or prison cell.

Tapping on the arm of the chair he was sitting on with his fingers Hans grew impatient as he just wanted to get over the situation even for a moment he though that Elsa was purposely delaying it to make him fear.

"Well I am not giving her the satisfaction of seeing me panic" though Hans stubbornly when he heard the door open, in came Elsa, she was alone and with no guards, it could mean either good news or bad news for him.

She said nothing, seemed hesitant to speak so Hans growled "What do you want?",

"I look over the fires...you were burning the fields to destroy the evil they hid" said Elsa,

"What did you expect me to do? Act as if it was nothing? You certainly know nothing about phoenixes and what our job is" retorted Hans,

"To seek and destroy evil?" asked Elsa,

"Yes, we protect the lot of ungrateful like you" snapped Hans making Elsa wince a little, she guessed she deserved it...a bit...but what else was she supposed to do and think?

"I want to thank you for saving Idna" Elsa blurted out "And my kingdom from the pests",

"Idna is a sweet girl and your kingdom is one of the best I have seen so far...and your a good queen, but you and your sister need to work on your listening skills" said Hans,

"Thank you" said Elsa, Hans got up and extended his hand, Elsa went to take it but Hans moved and said "I would like that key please",

"Excuse me?" asked Elsa backing away a bit,

"You know my reasons...my so called crimes helped your people...I have done basically everything you asked...so its only fair that I get my wings back" said Hans.

The words hit Elsa like a slap in the face, if she was being truly honest with herself she would say that she does not want him to leave, true they had not had the best of relationships and could barely be considered as friends, but Elsa had grown very attached to him, having him around, despite the periods of silence, it had made her not feel lonely and it was nice to talk to somebody who would talk to her as like she was just a regular person instead of the over formality and kissing up she was always subjected to.

"Yes...you are right..." said Elsa with surprising calmness while her mind was going a mile a minute trying to come up with a plan to make him stay.

"Then can I please have them back" insisted Hans,

"You know...why leave? you have a nicer life here..." said Elsa hesitating,

"I cannot stay, I have a job to do, much like you have to be queen of Arendelle" said Hans,

"Well..I uhh...you cannot!" said Elsa quickly,

"Why not!?" demanded Hans,

"Because...because...you still need to contribute to Arendelle" said Elsa quickly as she came up with a plan that she prayed would work.

"Have I not already contributed?" questioned Hans,

"Not economically...you burning the forest left us devastated economically as we survive on our lumber trade" said Elsa half lying, it was true, but lumber was not the only trade they used to survive on...they had fishing and ice trade...but he did not need to know those details...and it seems that he believed it as he looked rather discouraged.

For a moment Elsa sighted in relief, believing that she had won, till Hans said "If I can get you another trade source? One that can make your kingdom richer...will you give me my wings back?",

"Of course" said Elsa confident, she knew there would be no way that he could find anything of value to use for trade.

* * *

Sometime passed, for a moment relished the fact of her victory that was till one day Hans barged into the middle of a meeting, covered in dirt and dust, at first Elsa was going to scold him, but Hans spoke first "I found a source Elsa", Elsas eyes widen as she began to think in panic "No...it cannot be possible...he could not have found anything" but the smile on his face said it all as he held out a small pouch before spilling the contents inside on the table.

Much to the shock of everybody and even Elsa who with a shaky hand took it and held it, it was silver,

"Silver" said Elsa trying to keep calm voice,

"Yes queen Elsa...there is a cave not to far from here, its full of it, if you can have people work on it Arendelle will quickly become one of the most richest kingdoms in Europe" said Hans as the nobles all began to chatter happily pleased with the good news while Elsa was quite the opposite, she looked like she had been given the worst news in the world.

* * *

That night arriving at the cave with some servants Elsa looked around, true like Hans said the place was full of silver,

"This is incredible" said one of the servants,

"Yes" said Elsa before a plan got into her head and said "Get all the silver...empty this one...we will tell Hans it has no silver then we will construct another entrance to access the mine" ,

"Why?" asked the servants confused,

"Do not question me...and for your silence I will be willing to give you all some of the profits" said Elsa, that was all she had to say.

* * *

By the next day Hans was making his journey to the mines, leading Elsa, Anna and the rest to where he found it.

"I wish you never found it" said Idna sadly as she slouched on the back seat of the open carriage,

"Why do you say that?" asked Hans while her parents and Elsa looked,

"When we get the silver you get your wings again and I will have nobody to play with anymore" said Idna sadly,

"I am sorry...my daughter has quite an imagination" said Kristoff laughing,

"Yes, she thinks your a phoenix" said Anna before she and Kristoff laughed, but soon stopped when they noticed only both of them were laughing.

The silence continued till they arrived at the place getting off they walked to the cave, entering Hans looked in horror as saw the cave which had been full of silver... it had none.

"So...where is the silver?" said Elsa pointing out the obvious,

"Here...it was supposed to be here!" demanded Hans,

"Maybe we took a wrong turn?" suggested Anna,

"No! It was right here!" said Hans as he looked,

"Sorry...but I see nothing" said Elsa as she let him look around for a bit before he stopped, he looked sadly, as if accepting the fact that there was no silver.

Just for a moment Elsa began to regret what she did as they slowly began to make their way back to Arendelle palace, while they did Anna narrowed her eyes suspiciously at Elsa, there was something going on.

* * *

Sitting on Idna's playroom Anna watched her daughter drawing on a book, she basically used up her red, yellow and orange crayons. A couple of days had passed since the whole silver mine failure began, yet it seemed that it brought a negative change, it was very present on Idna, the little girl did not play as much as before, she seemed quite sad also as she would spend her time quiet and slow, almost still.

It was so unlike her,

"Idna...something wrong?" asked Anna deciding to get to the bottom of what was happening.

"Nothing momma" said Idna softly as she sighted,

"Come on Idna...I am your mother...mothers have a sense to know when something is wrong" said Anna, sighting again Idna said "You would not believe me if I told you",

"I will believe you" said Anna hoping her daughter would tell her what is wrong,

"Its uncle Hans...I know its crazy...he is a phoenix momma...he really is..." said Idna,

"And what's wrong with that" said Anna pretending to believe her daughter,

"He does not look like one now because aunty Elsa took his wings, without it he cannot go back home and do his job" said Idna,

"Idna...Elsa would never do anything like that" said Anna a little angry that her daughter would accuse her sister of such a thing,

"She did! She also lied too, there a silver mine, she just said there was none because she is mean and selfish" said Idna,

"Idna! You do not speak to your aunt like that!" scolded Anna,

"Well maybe somebody should! She deserves it!" said Idna angry as she got up and stormed off,

"Idna! Idna! Come back here and apologize!" yelled Anna but her daughter was long gone, sighting she looked down at the book and took it, looking over the pages she saw the drawings were all the same..they were of a big bird of sorts with red and gold feathers, for a moment she began to wonder if there was some truth to what Idna was telling her.

"Better ask Elsa" though Anna as she closed the door.

* * *

Sitting down Elsa sighted as she played with the key around her neck, in front of her was a trunk...a very wet trunk...Elsa sighted as she took the key off of her neck then stuck it into the trunk, opening the trunk, settled inside were a pair of large wings.

Running her hands through them Elsa marveled how they showed no sign of decomposition, even when they were underwater as she had hid them underwater in a coast nearby and months passed they were still like how they were when she first cut them off.

Elsa sighted, she felt torn in two, one part of her was pushing her to give them back, that it had been wrong to take them, but another part of her did not want to as she did not want to be lonely.

"Elsa" she heard, looking up she saw Anna, her eyes were wide in horror,

"Anna...I can explain" began Elsa quickly,

"Idna was telling the truth...how could you?" said Anna slowly as she shook her head in disappointment at her sister.

"I...I didn't...I though I was doing the right thing" said Elsa,

"Elsa...if it was the fire...then why did you not give them back?" asked Anna softly, Elsa looked down sadly, Anna nodded she understood before saying "Elsa...I understand... your lonely...but...this is not the right way...",

"What am I going to do Anna? I don't want him to go...but at the same time...I cannot continue to live with what I did" said Elsa,

"I cannot advice you Elsa...all I can say is that you need to do what is right" said Anna softy before she turned and left leaving Elsa alone.

After a while Elsa looked at the key, sighting before she made her decision.

* * *

The sun had set when Hans made his way back to the room he "shared" with Elsa, arriving he was surprised to find her there, she seems to have been waiting for him to show up.

"Queen Elsa?" he asked, for a moment he wondered what had she wanted, she had been acting quite..."generous" around him lately...allowing him a bit more freedom, trying to have more conversations and even now and then suggesting they go on leisurely trips.

"Hans...come" said Elsa as she got up and took his hand, she lead him out of the room and down the hall to her office, entering Hans stared curious at the trunk which was in the middle of the room. Elsa seemed sad as she reached and took the key that was around her neck and gave it to him.

For a moment he grew tensed as he began to wonder if this was some kind of trick or dream, with key in hand he stuck it into trunk, opening it he stared shocked at the sight of his wings.

"What's the meaning of this?" asked Hans lowly, Elsa had made it clear that he was not leaving or getting his wings back...now she is doing the exact opposite.

"I punished you when all you did was to help us..." said Elsa softly "Your are free to go...I just hope you can forgive me for what I did",

"Why now?" asked Hans curious,

"It was selfishness...I was lonely...you were the first real person who I ever met...who treated me like an individual rather than a queen with flattery..." said Elsa,

"You were lonely" said Hans, Elsa nodded,

"I can relate...I get lonely too...I travel a lot, never staying in the same place for so long...just me and nobody else" said Hans after a while then added "Maybe...I can come by and visit you and your family every now and then...ease our own burdens",

"I would like that" said Elsa with a small smile.

* * *

 _ **Much much later:**_

The day after Hans vanished, not to be seen again for a long time, so much that the council asked Elsa to find another husband, but she refused and whenever they tried Hans would reappear and stay for a couple of months then vanishing again for sometime only to reappear again.

A pattern soon emerge, he would disappear during spring only to reappear towards the end of autumn, Elsa, Anna, Kristoff and Idna always wait for that time quite eagerly, though more Elsa and Idna.

Soon after sometime Elsa and Hans formalized their relationship and started a family, 3 children they had and one on the way.

"Momma, that cannot be true" complained Agatha the oldest sibling, she had hair like her mother, her freckles were more pronounced, her fathers eyes as she looked accusingly at her mother Elsa who was telling them the story,

"It is true" said Elsa with a soft laugh as she stroke her belly,

"I believe you momma" said their son Christian, Chris for short, he looked more like his grandmother Iduna with his dark hair and blue eyes,

"I believe you too...it explains why dad disappears for months" said his brother Agnaar, who looked exactly like his grandfather with strawberry blond hair and blue eyes, then added "I wish he didn't have to go so much",

"Well he has a job to do...like I do being queen of Arendelle" said Elsa,

"I still think its silly" said Agatha not convinced,

"Oh really...then why don't you come with me tomorrow? Maybe I can change your mind" said Elsa mysteriously as she got up.

"Alright, I will see if its true or not" said Agatha as she and her brothers got up and followed their mother to their rooms as it was quite late and it was time to go to bed, plus they wanted to be well rested for tomorrow their father would return once more to spend time with them.

 _ **The end...**_


End file.
